


Poison and Petals

by mccoyshands



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Early Days, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Light Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-11
Updated: 2015-03-14
Packaged: 2018-03-07 02:06:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3156959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mccoyshands/pseuds/mccoyshands
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The beginnings of Helga and Salazar's relationship, how Rowena and Godric found out, and how they all deal with these very unexpected feelings</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“He’s staring at you again.”

Helga looked up from the book she’d been studying, her concentration broken. “Sorry, what was that?”

Rowena nodded toward the opposite corner of the room. “Salazar. He’s staring again.”

Helga looked over to where Salazar and Godric were sitting. Salazar was staring at her, but when she met his gaze, he blinked quickly and turned his attention back to Godric, who was explaining how his youngest sister had just learned to tame a hippogriff. “I doubt he really meant to stare. He’s probably just trying to avoid showing any interest in Godric’s stories. We all know how long those can go on if you respond too enthusiastically.”

Rowena wasn’t convinced. “It’s not just tonight. He often watches you work when thinks no one is looking,” she said. “I’m starting to think he might be planning something against you. You know how he feels about your ideas for the school.”

Helga fought back a smile. She’d noticed Salazar’s attention over the last few weeks, of course. But she knew his feelings were far less malicious than her friend assumed. “Honestly, Rowena, it’s nothing that serious. There’s no need to worry,” said Helga. She patted Rowena’s hand reassuringly and looked back to her work.

Rowena raised an eyebrow at Helga’s quick dismissal, but said nothing.

\-----

“So she just hops on this thing’s back, right, and it takes off into the clouds and our mum – Sal, are you even listening to me?”

Salazar pinched the bridge of his nose and turned to face Godric. “For the last time, please do not call me ‘Sal,’” he said, exasperated.

“Okay, sorry, I’m just used to people having nicknames,” Godric said. “But you didn’t hear a word of that story did you? All you’ve done all night is stare at Helga. She do something to piss you off?”

“Don’t be absurd,” Salazar snapped. “And I have not been staring at her.”

“Um… okay.” Godric hesitated. “Well if this is some kind of romantic thing, then you should just talk to her.”

“How _dare_ you?” Salazar stepped toward Godric, almost as if to strike him. “I would _never_ – not with… her,” he hissed.

Godric half-raised his hands and stepped back. “I’m sorry I just –“

“Is everything alright?” Rowena had left her place at the table and walked cautiously toward them. “What’s going on?”

Salazar froze, and with a final glance at Helga, who had been watching quietly from her place in the corner, he turned and strode angrily from the room.

“What on earth was that about?” Rowena asked. Godric just shrugged. “ _Godric_ , what did you do?”

“Nothing! I didn’t do anything!” he insisted. “I just asked him a simple question and he got all weird and then –“ He gestured wildly toward the door, very nearly hitting Rowena in the face.

“Well whatever it was, you clearly upset him. I suppose I’ll have to go talk to him now.”

“No, I’ll do it, Ro.“

“My name is not “Ro.’”

“Fine then, ROWENA, l will talk to him. Merlin’s balls, did none of you people grow up with nicknames?”

“Godric, please.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” Godric sighed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I apparently need to apologize for having a completely normal conversation.” He started toward the door, but before he could leave Helga stood up suddenly, causing her chair to topple backward.

“Wait!” She nearly shouted. Rowena and Godric froze, stunned to hear their usually quiet friend raise her voice. “Wait,” Helga said more quietly. “Perhaps we should leave him be for the moment. You know how quickly he loses his temper. It may be wise to let him calm down before discussing the matter further.”

Rowena and Godric exchanged a confused look. “You might be right,” Rowena said thoughtfully. “He may be easier to talk to in the morning.” She walked back to the table where Helga was standing awkwardly, sat down, and began reading the book she’d abandoned earlier.

Godric opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it and went to stand by the fire, his brow furrowed in confusion. Helga let out a small sigh of relief, righted her chair, and sat down again, trying to concentrate on the work in front of her. After a few minutes of strained silence, Helga stood up again.

“I think I’ll retire for the evening.” She tried to speak calmly, hoping the others didn’t pick up on how desperate she was to escape the awkwardness. “It’s been quite a long day and we have much more work to do tomorrow.” She smiled at Rowena and walked toward the door, nodding at Godric, who responded with a half-hearted “g’night Hels” as she left.

Godric leaned out the door to make sure Helga was out of earshot, then turned to Rowena and exclaimed, “What the bleeding hell was all that about?”

“Well I think it’s fairly obvious,” Rowena said, looking back to her book.

“Wh-?” Godric threw his arms up and looked around the room as if searching for some kind of clarification.

Rowena closed her book and turned to Godric, looking very much like she was ready to deliver a lecture. “What did you say to Salazar that made him so angry?” she asked.

He hesitated. “I may have suggested that he had romantic feelings for Helga.”

“I thought as much,” Rowena said.

“Well, so what? He’d been staring at her all night long. It was a perfectly valid question!” Godric had no patience for oblique assumptions and was often irritated by Rowena’s tendency to deliver information this way. “Please stop trying to make me figure this out and just tell me what’s going on.”

Rowena rolled her eyes. “Fine. Salazar and Helga are romantically involved. Well, maybe not involved yet, but they certainly have feelings for each other.”

Godric walked over to the table and sat down heavily. “Didn’t we just establish that Sal does _not_ have feelings for Helga? You saw how angry he was when I brought it up.”

“He was angry because you were right. Salazar is very private, so the fact that someone discovered something personal about him before he was ready to share it upsets him. Besides, with his family’s history of prejudice he must be having a difficult time accepting his own feelings toward someone like Helga.”

Godric listened intently, nodding as Rowena explained. “That makes sense. Wait,” he paused. “How did you, of all people, figure all of that out?”

“Don’t insult me, Godric,” Rowena snapped. “Just because I have no interest in romance myself doesn’t mean I can’t see when other people do. And you know very well that I’m more observant than you and the others.” She did not say this to brag, or to berate Godric for not noticing what she had. It was simply a fact. Rowena had always been the smartest of the four friends, and they all respected her for it.

“I’m sorry,” Godric said sincerely. “I shouldn’t have said that.” He often spoke without thinking, but always apologized when necessary. “So what are we supposed to do about this then?”

“Nothing, for the time being,” Rowena replied. “Helga and Salazar need to figure out what their relationship really is before you and I can discuss it with them.”

“Well we can’t just pretend like we don’t know anything. I mean, you might be able to, but I definitely cannot just go on like nothing’s changed.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Rowena paused, thinking. “Alright then, here’s what we’ll do. In two days, you will speak to Salazar and I’ll talk to Helga. Just to let them know we are aware of what’s going on and discuss how they want us to approach the situation.”

“Well I don’t anticipate Salazar will be particularly pleased to discuss the subject with me, but I’ll manage. But why two days from now?” Godric asked. “Why not just talk to them about it now?”

“Because if Helga hasn’t already gone to the dungeons to speak with Salazar, I suspect she will tomorrow, and we need to give them some time to sort things out.”

“Fair enough.” Godric stood up and stretched. “Well I’m off to bed. Bit early for me, but it’s been an odd night.”

“Very well,” said Rowena. “I think I’ll stay here a while longer and look over our schedule for tomorrow. Good evening, Godric. Do try to make it to breakfast on time.”

Godric laughed and lightly kissed Rowena on the top of her head on his way to the door. “I’m not making any promises,” he said over his shoulder.


	2. Chapter 2

Helga left the study and walked quickly through the corridor, her chest tightening with anxiety. She could hear Godric’s voice from the study, no doubt asking Rowena to explain what had just happened. After Salazar’s outburst and her own quiet attempts to cover for him, Rowena was sure to have figured out their relationship. She let out a sound that was half-sigh, half-groan and wrung her hands. This wasn’t how this was supposed to happen. Salazar had made it clear that he wasn’t ready to make a decision about how he felt. She understood. It was hard for him to accept his feelings for her, especially because their philosophies were so fundamentally different. He was never one to make rash decisions, but he'd been trying to sort through his feelings for her for what felt like ages. And now that the others had caught on, it was time for him to be honest with Helga and himself.

Helga headed for his quarters in the lower levels of the castle. The temperature dropped as the corridor led her underground. Rowena and Salazar were supposedly working on a spell to heat these walls, but based on the shivering Helga was currently experiencing, they hadn't made much progress. She wished they'd thought to work on this spell before the winter chill had set in.

A torch was lit just outside Salazar's door, its faint light illuminating the end of the hall. Helga stood in front of the door for a few moments and took several deep breaths before knocking lightly on the dark oak.

"Leave me be," came Salazar's voice from within the room. He sounded defeated.

"It's me, Salazar," Helga replied quietly.

There was a moment of silence, and then heavy footsteps approached the door. Salazar unlatched the lock, but let Helga push it open herself. By the time she was inside and had closed the door behind her, he was sitting back at his desk, head in his hands. His anger had subsided by now, and he was left exhausted. Helga stood patiently near the door, waiting for him to speak.

Eventually Salazar looked up at Helga. "How did the others respond to my little outburst?" he asked.

"They've figured out what's going on, of course," she said calmly. "Although I fear I may be partially at fault for that. I defended you a bit too adamantly after you stormed out."

Salazar groaned and dropped his forehead to the table. "So now what do we do?"

"Well for one thing, you and I can discuss our relationship before the other two come asking questions about us."

“Helga, I am _trying_ to figure things out. You know that.” He leaned back in his chair and passed a hand over his face. “Just because Godric and Rowena might know about us doesn’t mean that I can suddenly make up my mind.”

“Yes, it does!” Helga nearly snapped. “You know full well that Godric is too curious for his own good, and Rowena is always concerned about our work being postponed, and they will both approach us with questions in the next few days.” She started pacing across the room, as Salazar watched her with concern. She hadn’t been this agitated in nearly a year. “Even if they hadn’t found out, it is time for you to make a decision. It has been _months_ , Salazar! And I have tried to be patient and give you your space. But I am tired of waiting for you. I am tired of being pushed to the side while you ‘sort through things.’ It’s time for you to make a decision because if you don’t, then I will.” She stopped pacing and turned to face Salazar, her usual friendly demeanor gone.

He stared back at her for a moment, then stood up and walked slowly toward her. “Please don’t make me do this. You know how hard this has been for me,” he said quietly.

“And you think it’s been easy for me?” Helga said incredulously. “How do you think I’ve felt while you decide whether or not you want to be with me? I have been nothing but honest with you since the beginning, but you refuse to speak candidly with me. My patience ends here, Salazar.”

“But I just – “

“No,” Helga said sternly. “You either love me or you don’t, and if you don’t then it’s time for me to move on. I need an answer.”

“You can’t possibly expect me to decide right now!” Salazar exclaimed. “Not after all that’s happened tonight.”

“Fine,” Helga replied tersely. “You have till tomorrow. Goodnight, Salazar.” She turned quickly and left his rooms, not giving him a chance to respond.

Salazar watched her go, unsure how to react. That was the angriest he had ever seen Helga. He hadn’t considered how she might feel being the subject of his confusion.

 _Of course you didn’t,_ he thought. He had always been self-centered, but it wasn’t until he’d started work with the others that he realized just how selfish he could be. Being the only child of a prestigious family gave him a unique privilege that he was slowly learning to recognize. He knew he needed to be more receptive to change, and to allow the others to question him without losing his temper. So though it took Helga practically screaming it at him, he finally understood why she was so upset about his reluctance to make any kind of decision.

Salazar sighed, walked to the fireplace, and relit the dying embers with a wave of his wand. Winter was finally setting in, and he and Rowena had yet to find a chance to test the variations of their wall-heating spell. He was tempted to try one tonight, but he knew he needed to finally decide how he wanted to proceed with Helga. This was his only chance to set things right with her.

He kicked off his boots and flopped down on the bed, not bothering to remove his robes. He stared up at the ceiling, considering his options. Not that he had many to choose from. He’d never faced a problem of this nature before. All of his previous romances had been brief and uneventful. As the only heir to the Slytherin fortune, Salazar was the popular choice of suitor for every daughter of every other wealthy family in the city. He’d either courted or dined with nearly every single, pureblood woman in Ireland, and none of the relationships had ended well. These women had never really interested him. They cared little for intellectual conversation and preferred to gossip about social news or brag endlessly about their own accomplishments. A few of them wanted nothing more than an attempt to seduce him. None of this had bothered him much as a young man, but as his knowledge grew and he studied more about magic, these trivial encounters became tiresome.

But he never tired of conversing with Helga. She was brilliant and honest and talented, and he respected her. There was never any question about that. Certainly, she was of lower birthright and socialized with all sorts of unseemly people, but she was undoubtedly gifted in the magical arts. There had always been kindness and respect between them, despite their vastly different philosophies. Salazar couldn’t pinpoint the day his feelings for Helga had shifted. He would find himself smiling at her from across a room for no particular reason, or seeking her out for advice on a new spell, even if he didn’t really need it. It wasn’t long before she approached him in his study and expressed her feelings for him, which had led to his immediate, but halfhearted, denial of any reciprocation. Helga had dismissed that and simply told him that she knew it was confusing for him, but that she would wait until he could come to terms with it. Until now. Salazar knew he couldn’t lose her because of his own selfishness.

It was dark and quiet in his rooms under the lake, and there was no one to fool but himself.

“Fuck,” he whispered into the darkness. There was only ever one option, but it had taken him far too long to realize it.

Salazar sat up and reached for the Potion of Dreamless Sleep on his bedside table. He would have to speak to Helga in the morning, and he couldn’t afford a night of restlessness. He carefully poured some of the potion into a glass and downed it in one mouthful. Lying back in bed, he fell into a deep sleep.

\------

Helga awoke early the next morning, having slept very little. Her eyes were still red and puffy from crying the night before, and she briefly considered staying in bed all day to avoid Salazar. She dispelled the thought quickly. It wasn’t in her to back down from a confrontation, and she wasn’t about to start now. But she wasn’t exactly keen to seek him out, so she decided to work in the greenhouses for a while and wait for him to find her.

She stood up and drew back the curtains, flooding her room with sunlight. It was a good day for tending to the plants, and Helga thought she might even have enough light to gather a few of the more interesting herbs from the edges of the forest.

 _I will survive this day_ , she thought. Even if she and Salazar never spoke again, she would still have flowers and sunlight and her work to look forward to.

Wrapped in her favorite mustard-yellow cloak, Helga walked across the grounds to her greenhouses. The mandrakes would be ready to harvest soon, and she quickly pushed thoughts of Salazar to the back of her mind and began making plans to create an inventory system for the new ingredients she would soon have.

After a few hours of weeding and watering, Helga felt much calmer and was nearly ready to go looking for Salazar. She had just finished coaxing a particularly stubborn tendril of Devil’s Snare back into its lightproof container when she heard a soft knock at the open door.

She spun around to see Salazar standing here, head hung and shoulders slumped.

He glanced up at her. “May I come in?” he asked quietly.

Helga nodded. She had never seen him look so defeated, and she braced herself for the worst. He walked slowly into the greenhouse and stood a respectable distance from her.

“I’m sorry,” Salazar began.

“It’s alright,” Helga said quickly, her heart sinking. “I should have known you would never –“

“Please let me finish,” he interrupted her gently. He took a deep breath, straightened his posture and looked her in the eye. “I am sorry I caused you distress because I could not overcome my own shortsightedness.”

Helga was unsure how this would end, but Salazar had clearly rehearsed this, so she let him continue.

“It was unkind of me to leave you without an answer for so long, and I deeply regret it. I hope you can forgive me.” He paused, apparently waiting for some kind of acknowledgement.

Helga’s heart was pounding and she felt as though she could burst into tears at any moment, so she simply stood silently and waited for him to finish. Salazar looked briefly crestfallen, and shifted his gaze to the dirt-covered floor.

“I…” he hesitated, then cleared his throat and started again. “I do love you, and I would like to be with you if you will still have me.” He looked back up to Helga, waiting for a response.

Her eyes were filled with tears, but Helga laughed as relief washed over her. Salazar looked alarmed, as though she were laughing at him, and tried to apologize again. But Helga strode across greenhouse, grabbed the front of his robes, and pulled him down to her height so she could kiss him.

Salazar made a small noise of surprise, then wrapped his arms around Helga’s waist and lifted her off the ground.

Helga felt his lips curl into a smile, and she giggled, breaking the kiss. For a moment, Salazar simply looked at her, before setting her back on the ground.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. He smiled and kissed her forehead, and they stood quietly in each other's arms for a long moment.

“I suppose we should talk to Godric and Rowena,” he said reluctantly.

“Not yet,” said Helga. “They can wait another day. I don’t know that I can handle any more emotional stress today.”

“Fair enough,” Salazar replied. He sighed happily and took a small step back, but kept his arms around Helga. “Do you need any help with the plants today? I saw that Devil’s Snare put up quite the fight.”

Helga laughed again, a bright, clear sound that filled Salazar with joy. “I was planning to gather a few herbs in the forest today, if you would care to join me.”

He nodded, and she took his hand and kissed the back of it, then leading him out of the greenhouse to the edges of the dark woods.


End file.
